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   After being introduced as the next performer, the audience go wild and begin to cheer for Weekend's long awaited return to the Chaos Awards stage. While it is mainly the screams of the female crowd members that dominate, almost everyone regardless of age or gender are cheering for the boys as they have a lot of industry connections and celebrity friends within the room. It has been quite some time since Weekend last performed here and it's also their first live performance since early 2013, making this the first time performing the number one single "How It Ends" live.
The staging area remains blacked out as the audience continue to cheer. Slowly, the screen behind the stage lights up and shows a beautiful supernova. Everything else remains in darkness, allowing the audience to focus on the mysterious image that lays ahead of them. The gentle strumming of a guitar is then heard coming from the darkened stage. The cheers pick up again as the audience identify it as the intro to "How It Ends". As the soft, calming introduction continues, the image of the supernova fades away and is replaced by a night sky. The odd shooting star can be seen flying among the diamonds. The projection constantly moves as if travelling through the sky - the slow pace of the movement is keeping in time with the gentle guitar. After focusing on the stringed instrument and the stunning backdrop, the lights go up for the first time which allows the audience to see the performers. Three members of the band; Dustyn, Oscar and Billy are sat on a raised ledge just below the screen. Meanwhile, Riley Hamilton and Scott Wellington sit on a set of surrounding stairs each. The stage lights cast a blueish-purple glow over the band and out into the audience.
"Hello Chaos Awards. It's good to be back. We missed you." says Dustyn Blue softly. He smiles as he strums on the guitar, playing an extended version of the introduction, allowing people to settle into the performance. The members of the band appear rather relaxed and content, smiling away at the audience and gently swaying to the sound of Dustyn's guitar. Rumours of tension and infighting in the band seem silly now as the band seem to be at ease and often look over and smile at one another, happy to be sharing this great moment together. Riley and Scott stand up simultaneously and walk down the stairs. Billy and Dustyn then follow, standing up and walking across the ledge. Billy walks along casually while Dustyn takes his time, still recovering from a bad leg and focusing on playing the guitar. Blue hands over his guitar to a stagehand before he walks down the stairs on the left hand side however, live instruments can still be heard from their backing band who have now taken over and have now set-up underneath the platform.  Oscar Ward, the lead singer, finally opens up the song and a few screams can be heard from within the crowd. He is the only member left up on the platform at this point in time. Billy remains at the bottom of a set of stairs, Riley is sat on the right side of the stage, close to the audience members at the front while Scott and Dustyn sit together at the left side. Riley smiles into the crowd, noticing a familiar face. Meanwhile, Oscar continues to sing the first verse while sat on the ledge. His voice has always been one of the deepest alongside Dustyn's and is definitely suited to songs like this one - songs driven by live instruments rather than computerised, overproduced stuff. His vocals are slightly deeper than before but there is no drastic change. As always, Oscar keeps in tune and his voice is flawless. Before approaching the last line in his verse, he holds a finger against his earpiece which is falling out.I'm over here. I'm over here, why can't you see me?
I'm calling out. I'm calling out, why can't you hear me?
I've watched him break your heart
I've picked up the pieces each and every time
How could you say he loves you better than I can?  Dustyn Blue, the youngest member of the group takes over immediately and sounds like he came in too early but fans and casual listeners know that this is exactly how the studio version of the songs sounds too. While singing the second verse, he leans against his band mate, Scott, who then begins to prod Dustyn's cheek in an attempt to make him laugh through a serious song. Blue grins but manages to keep his laughter under control unlike Wellington who has to move away from his mic so that his chuckling cannot be picked up. Dustyn's voice has really matured and even on the first album, it was already beyond his years. It sounds rather rough, raspy and almost like a "whiskey voice" - far from the way in which he speaks. His Irish accent still comes through though. Blue's voice sounds even richer than usual and while not everyone is a fan of this singing style, his vocals are without a doubt the most unique within the band and the control and power he has behind his voice can only be envied. When singing the words "right through me", Dustyn make a circular shape with his hands to represent a hole (which one can obviously see right through). Scott also makes a similar gesture but holds up the "OK" sign and gives a cheeky wink. This is because he's playing up the whole Illuminati conspiracy theory which states that this hand gesture also represents "666". As Weekend have been accused of being part of this cult and by holding up the sign and closing one eye, Scott knows that it's going to annoy some people which is exactly why he does it.
Billy Khan then takes over and things begin to change. Not only does Billy's silky voice contrast greatly to the rougher ones just heard but his presence alone seems to work the crowd up into a frenzy. Being the most controversial member in the band, Khan finds himself splitting opinions everywhere he goes. A group of girls in the crowd scream louder than ever when Billy opens his mouth, yet some jeering and booing can be heard underneath it all. Despite the mixed reception, Khan continues to sing the short pre-chorus, sounding exactly like he does on the record. If people look past his antics, they will be able to see just how much talent he possesses. He has the looks and the voice but unfortunately his personal life overshadows all of that.
As the chorus kicks in, Oscar Ward walks along the platform and down a set of stairs to rejoin the rest of Weekend. The live band step it up a gear and become more prominent, adding a little more edge to the track but nothing overpowering and does not stray too far from the original song itself. All five of the boys sing in unison and blend together quite nicely. Many people overlook their harmonies but unlike a lot of other current pop groups, they can actually do this and their voices complement each other. Oscar and Dustyn have the deepest voices, singing the bottom harmony while Khan, Wellington and Hamilton use their naturally higher registers. With Riley having the highest register, he sings the high harmony and it is the easiest to pick out in the chorus.Do you know how I feel? How I feel when you turn away
Let it all out. When you let it all go, I'm your shoulder to cry on
You say you want someone just like me
Someone you can turn to no matter where or when
I'm standing right here yet you look right through meHe can never love you like I do, hold you like I do
When all goes wrong who is the one you run to?You say that we should just stay friends
But we both know how that story ends
We could try to carry on and play pretend
But things will never be the same again
I poured my heart out now I don't know what to do
The silence is deafening, guess it was the wrong move
I could lie, smile and say I'm happy just being your friend
But as time goes on, we both know how it ends  Following on from the chorus, Riley takes on the third verse. He is still at the front of the stage, close to the audience. Being such a friendly person, he is more than happy to perch at the edge of the stage and feel as close and involved with the crowd as possible. As it's a ballad, it allows him time to do this as he's not jumping around the stage trying to remember his placings rather than focusing on the people who are watching the performance. Riley's voice is naturally high and has one of the most extensive ranges within the group, alongside Blue. His voice has been compared to the likes of MIKA, Adam Levine and Sam Smith. In the chorus, if you listened carefully, his higher register could be heard and while it is impressive, his control over his voice is what usually holds him back however in this performance, all is going well. He easily switches from doing his high harmonies to using a lower register in his verse, similar to the likes of Ward and Blue but not quite as deep. When he finishes his section, he looks across the stage and smiles at Scott who happens to be next.
Taking on the short pre-chorus is Scott Wellington. His vocal ability has been widely criticised and many have unfairly said that he can't sing. Scott does have a softer, thinner voice than the others but it is not 'bad'. He always hits the right notes, can carry a tune and has a beautiful angelic, uplifting tone. On the records, his voice does seem extremely thin in comparison to the others but as he sings his two lines here tonight his vocals sound slightly deeper and it's obvious that his voice has matured. While it is not as strong as his band mates, Scott sails through his part with no hiccups and with a slight hint of a smile on his face. During his little segment, a couple of whistles and cheers can be heard. These are obviously to show appreciate and support Wellington as he rarely has solo lines.I see you with him. I see you slow dancing under moonlight.
I'm in the corner. Back against the wall, still I'm glad to see you smile.
While he gets to be the one who takes you home
I'll be the one who is still dancing all alone
Do you know the way it feels when I see you leave in his arms?He will never understand like me, bet he can't even kiss like me
I'm so wrapped up, I've fallen in too deep  When the chorus comes around for the second time, Wellington, Blue and Hamilton walk to the centre of the stage as they proudly hold their mics and sing their hearts out at the most prestigious music awards ceremony on the planet. Hamilton rests his hand on Blue's shoulders and smiles at both him and Wellington, unable to cover up his joy for much longer. The camera on stage follows the three boys in the centre of the stage (the camera obviously getting a good shot of Wellington's famous rear). Meanwhile, Ward sits on the left hand staircase and Khan sits on the right staircase. During the performance, a half-eaten muffin is thrown on stage, presumably aimed at Dustyn who has an intense love for them. The three boys in the middle take a step back to avoid it before Scott turns his head from his mic and laughs again. Dustyn quickly runs forward and kicks the treat off the stage before it gets trampled on during the rest of the show.You say that we should just stay friends
But we both know how that story ends
We could try to carry on and play pretend
But things will never be the same again
I poured my heart out now I don't know what to do
The silence is deafening, guess it was the wrong move
I could lie, smile and say I'm happy just being your friend
But as time goes on, we both know how it ends  The bridge of the song comes around and it is Billy Khan's turn yet again. While they sang together throughout the chorus, Khan made his way back up to the hanging platform. He is now sat in the centre with one leg up on the platform and the other dangling over. Khan doesn't seem to mind that there is quite a drop below him as he belts out the next part of the song. The crowd are no longer expressing their opinions on him anymore, allowing Khan to really shine. His part, along with Hamilton's extremely high harmony, is probably the most vocally tiring as he has to constantly belt out each line of the bridge with no rest in between before hitting one big, long high note and the word "goes". Again, he sounds exactly like he does on the record and no matter what the crowd's opinion on him is, they can't deny that he nailed that part. Many times before I couldn't find the words to say
But now here I am, I want you to stay
Stay the night inside my arms
You say that a real man is hard to find
But I think I've proved myself over all this time
One chance, we can change how the story goesYou say that we should just stay friends
But we both know how that story ends
We could try to carry on and play pretend
But things will never be the same again
I poured my heart out now I don't know what to do
The silence is deafening, guess it was the wrong move
I could lie, smile and say I'm happy just being your friend
But as time goes on, we both know how it endsAs Billy's section finishes, a dramatic instrumental part from the live band plays for a few seconds, really adding that signature Weekend rock/pop feel to it. Scott bashes the air with his hands, miming the drummer of their backing band while flashing white light, resembling thunder, flashes in time with the drums. As the song picks up and sounds more aggressive, the boys naturally sing a lot louder too in order to keep that passionate feel and also be heard above the ferocious, thrashing instruments. As they continue singing the chorus, Riley and Dustyn walk up the left flight of stairs while Oscar and Scott take the right. All five boys rejoin and sit down on the hanging platform. Halfway through the chorus, it begins to rise and lift the band even higher. On the last line, the backing band stop and we hear the five boys sing perfectly in unison. "Thank you! Enjoy the rest of the show!" says an overjoyed Hamilton, waving out into the crowd. The audience begin to cheer and applaud Weekend's triumphant return to the stage while the boys continue to wave from the moving platform. |
     WEEKEND: BILLY • DUSTYN • OSCAR • RILEY • SCOTT
PUBLIC WARNING: BEAU • CARTER LEE • JAKE • MYLES • ZANDER
THE STAT NERDS: BRIAN • CHRISTOPHER
THE ZONE: BLAKE • CHRIS • JASON • LIAM
JOSHUA GRIMMIE • LINCOLN • LAYLA • MERCEDES • MICHELLE GREEN
ANDREA • DENEIL • CHICAGO NOBODY • BLOOM • SONNY • VICTORIA BLACK
REUBEN • ELLIE-GRACE SUMMERS • ALFIE SUMMERS • MICAH DELISLE
JAMIE JACKSON • KONSTANTIN • FAYETTE • SAYYID |
